A Lifetime Ago
by Kayliem1999
Summary: It's been years, so many years since she's heard that name. And when she hears it again, it's like someone is shooting her in the stomach and all the air is being sucked out of her. And yes, she she knew what that felt like. She had tried so hard to hide from the past, but it was catching up to her. She was naive to think she could have hidden. Rated T for now, subject to change!
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my new Agents of SHIELD fic. I hope you like it. Just so we're clear, I'm not entirely sure where this is going at all so bear with me. I OWN NOTHING!**

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Adrian brushed a stray strand of curly brown hair out of her eyes as she flipped through the stack of mail in her hand. After jamming her key in the door and twisting it, she bumped the door to her apartment open with her hip. Not turning to glance where they landed, she tossed her keys and heard them clank against the stone counter top.

Her black heels clomped against the dusty wood floor as she crossed the room. She disregarded her purse and the pile of mail on her kitchen table. Ruffling a hair through her hair, she walked into her bedroom.

The room was pretty ordinary. A gray shag rug covered the floor of her room. On several drunken nights, she had passed out on the carpet. The alcohol usually subsided the nightmares of her past. There was a bed in the center of the back wall with fancy throw pillows strewn about on the left side of the bed. She usually slept on the right side. There was a gun hidden under the pillow on her side of the bed. Just in case. White tables with matching lamps sat on either side of the bed. One of the tables had an dented alarm clock held together with a little bit of duct tape. Let's just say she wasn't a morning person and it often ended up being chucked against a wall.

On the opposite wall there was a door to her connected bathroom and a large dresser that she had purchased at a garage sale. It was probably three times as old as her and smelled vaguely of mothballs. In the back of the bottom drawer, she had items from her past wrapped in clothes hidden well. Not only from anyone who came into her room, but also herself. She didn't want to remember that life, was too scared to even think about it.

In the corner of the room, there was a desk that matched the tables by her bed. It was covered in piles and piles of paperwork. The drawers were overflowing with broken pencils and old office supplied.

Adrian kicked off her knock-off Marc Jacobs heels and stripped out of her white button up and black pencil skirt. On her way into the bathroom, she dropped the clothing into the very full dirty clothes hamper. As she removed the make up from her face she reminded herself that she needed to do some laundry tomorrow night. Friday was laundry night.

Sad, right? Most twenty seven year olds who were single were at bars hooking up with the first person they saw. Adrian didn't. She preferred to drink at home and alone. She didn't trust what she would say in a drunken stupor to a complete stranger. So she kept to herself.

Walking back into her room, she pulled on a fading ARMY sweatshirt and worn out leggings. She sat down on her bed pulling on fuzzy socks and then dragged her feet to the kitchen.

She dug around in her freezer for a moment before pulling out a frozen meal. Unwrapping it she popped it into the microwave. Huffing, she hopped onto the counter and resumed flipping through the mail.

Bill. Bill. Advertisement. Bill. Bill. Rent-

Before she even had the chance to angrily throw the mail back on the counter, there was a booming knock at the door. Who was it, she never had company? She made it a point to avoid people at every cost. She didn't even know the last time she had a conversation with someone outside of work.

Whoever was at the door knocked again only louder. This better be good, her macaroni was almost done.

The man standing in the dimly lit hallway towered over her in height. And his body was covered in muscles. He had on dark sunglasses that hid his eyes and a black suit. His head was perfectly shaved and he wore no expression. Adrian hadn't seen a man like this in a long time, but she knew exactly why he was there.

"Are you Skye?" The man asked removing his sunglasses. His eyes were a menacing brown, almost black color.

Skye, she hadn't heard that name in years. Adrian had buried the name a lifetime ago after she left her life behind. After Hydra had almost won. Her team was disassembled and everyone went their separate ways. As far as she knew, she was the only one who had left SHIELD.

After their little spat with Hydra, SHIELD had been forced to rebuild from the ground up. She had decided that it wasn't worth staying without her teammates sleeping down the hall. She too chose to start from scratch. Not that there was much to tear down anyway. After all, she didn't know her last name and before SHIELD she lived out of a van.

With a little bit of hacking and some help from her former team, Skye never existed. She never lived in St. Agnes orphanage, never had been in the foster system, never worked at SHIELD and never met Grant Ward. Skye was a ghost. With her death, Adrian Masters was born. She was a social worker, her parents died when she was thirteen in a boating accident and she lived with her grandparents until she turned eighteen. Her birthday was November 27th and she was perfectly normal. Attended Mission Heights High School and went to NYU to get a degree in psychology.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked.

"I'm with SHIELD," he said pulling his badge out of his pocket. Skye had one just like it tucked beneath the floorboards in her bedroom. "Fury had requested your assistance."

"I left SHIELD five years ago and Fury himself assisted in my disappearance," Skye stated crossing her arms over her chest.

"We need you to come back," a familiar voice said from behind her.

Skye whipped around to face a man she never though she would ever see again. Not in this lifetime. Agent Phil Coulson. Or as she liked to call him, AC. Her former team leader, the man who had gone to the ends of the earth to save her life and the only father figure she had ever had.

When she had left SHIELD he helped her get on her feet then disappeared reluctantly from her life. He had aged quite a bit since he had last saw him. His hair was graying and finer than she remembered. He had a few wrinkles here and there and dark bags hung from his eyes.

"What's going on?" Skye asked.

"It's Ward," Coulson said. The words were like a punch to the stomach, he had escaped after Hydra had lost. A lot of rouge agents had. "He's been spotted."

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**Please review!**

**Love,**

**Kaylie**


	2. Chapter 2

Sometimes when she closed her eyes she could still hear his voice gruff and gentle at the same time. Still feel the callused pad of his thumb rub against her cheek. But then, she saw the security footage from the Fridge, saw the penny drop from the top of the door, saw him writhing on the floor his heart frozen in his chest, saw Fitz lying in that hospital bed hooked up to all of those machines and she remembered all he had done. Remembered that it had all been one big lie and that he was not the Grant Ward he had pretended to be. The Grant Ward she had fallen so hard for.

Skye struggled to put that together. Struggled for months, years even, with the truth. No matter what she yelled at Fitz angrily, she didn't want to believe it. Couldn't believe it. How could someone fake emotion like he had? How had he lived in a lie for eight months?

Then, late one night when she was vomiting up the alcohol she had knocked back so desperately, it hit her. Grant Ward was a specialist. He went undercover for SHIELD all the time. Hell, the entire time he was with SHIELD he was undercover. He was used to living tangled in a web of lies. Knew how to work under pressure without raising suspicion. His time on the Bus was nothing more than a mission.

"What are you thinking about?" May asked sitting down in the chair across from Skye.

Melinda May hadn't changed at all. She still looked ageless and terrifying. Her expression was blank and a little unnerving as she sipped on a glass of ice tea.

"Do you ever think about him?" Skye asked looking out her window.

The sun was setting, lighting the clouds on fire. It was a view she hadn't realized she missed. In her apartment, you couldn't see the sun setting because it was blocked by tall buildings, but it couldn't have compared from to the view from the Bus. Skye realized that she hadn't been on a plane in a long time, not since Coulson and her had flown to New Jersey to start her new life.

"I block him out most of the time. When I think about it, I have more rage than the Berserker Staff gave me. I use it to my advantage," May replied glancing out the window too.

"I've spent the last five years trying to forget him and nothing I did worked. I left SHIELD, changed my name and tried to date other guys."

"But you couldn't trust anyone," May added.

"Yeah," Skye sighed. "And Ward kind of ruined any desire I had to fall for someone. I kind of secluded myself and made it impossible to start to feel something for anyone. I built up walls so I wouldn't get hurt again."

May nodded her head in understanding. She might not have loved Grant Ward, but she wasn't indifferent to him either. Their relationship was supposed to be no strings attached, but Melinda would be lying if she said she wasn't hurt when Ward proved to be a monster. It was not only a slap to the face, but a shot at her pride. He had fooled them, fooled _her, _and she had been none the wiser.

She wasn't sure what made her angrier, that he was Hydra or that it surprised her. Either way, she was a fool to trust him. That was the last time she let anyone get remotely intimate with her.

"We'll be landing in fifteen minutes," Coulson informed over the intercom.

The Hub. After six months of blood spilling and gunfire, SHIELD reclaimed it. They would be working from there. That's where it all started really, not only where he first betrayed them, but when Skye realized he was more than her SO. When she broke laws and protocol to bring Grant and Leo home. Mostly, it was Grant that she wanted to come home safely, because she was starting to love him. Or the 'him' she thought he was.

And it just so happened that he escaped from incarceration in the Hub only three months following the creation of Adrian Fosters. That's when Skye started sleeping with a gun, not that she would be able to shoot him if he came after her. Skye just liked to think that it helper her sleep at night, helped her feel safer. She didn't think Grant could pull the trigger either, no matter who gave the kill order.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Skye saw Simmons standing in the lab with her hair pulled into a ponytail and goggles over her eyes. She held a test-tube filled with blue liquid and a dropper of clear liquid in the other.

"Jemma," Skye said. Jemma turned around to face the source of the voice. When she saw the owner of the voice, she sat the test-tube on the table and ran toward Skye her arms outstretched.

"I missed you so much," Jemma whispered into Skye's chestnut curls tears filling her eyes.

"I missed you too," Skye replied.

They pulled away smiling at each other. It had been awhile since they had any contact. Part of leaving behind SHIELD meant cutting all contact with her past. It sucked and she hated it, but in the long run it would be better for everyone. Even if she didn't get to see her only family or get updates on Fitz's condition, it meant that part of her life didn't exist and no one could track her back to SHEILD. Speaking of Fitz.

"How's Fitz doing?" Skye asked desperately.

Last she heard he was awake and in rehab. He didn't have any recollection of any of the events that took place on the Bus. Before she left, he started having dreams about everything, but it was all in bits and pieces and incomplete snippets. He remembered everyone, but didn't connect emotions to them or remember anything about anyone. Well, everyone except Simmons who had been in his life since he was sixteen. And strangely enough, he still knew that he loved her with every bit of strength he had.

"He's doing good," Jemma replied. "He's starting to get his memory back, but he gets really frustrated."

"Is he still having trouble focusing?" Skye asked.

"Sometimes," Simmons sighed. "But he's getting better everyday."

"Skye?" Someone said from behind her.

She turned around to find Leo Fitz standing only feet away from her. He had a thin pink scar slicing down his left cheek, but other than that he still looked like the Leo Fitz she remembered. She ran toward him launching her body against his. Leo stumbled backward a few steps, but caught himself wrapping his arms around the girl clinging to him.

"You've been working out," Skye stated pulling away and holding him at arm's length away.

"Yeah," Leo replied blushing. He had been working out a lot actually. Ever since Simmons told him what happened in the Med-Pod and on the Bus, he was determined that nothing like that was ever going to happen again. So he changed and everyone had noticed. They all knew why too, but no one ever mentioned it.

"You look good, Fitz," Skye smiled. "And that scar makes you look badass."

"Thanks," Fitz smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

Skye sat on the bed of her SHIELD issued bed with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her old laptop was only feet away from her displaying a feed on loop. Ever since Coulson had given it back to her, she hadn't been able to peel her eyes away from the screen. It wasn't just that she had missed it and she did miss it a lot. Mostly, she missed hacking. But she couldn't stop watching the security feed that she had hacked from the SHIELD mainframe.

It showed the one and only Grant Ward stepping out of a coffee shop in Miami. He had this gash dragging down the side of his face just like the last time she saw him. His hair was messy and he was sporting a bit of scruff on his chin. Grant had on his black leather jacket and dark rimmed sunglasses. The video was only was ten seconds long, but it had her entirely captivated.

Skye didn't know why she kept watching it, but it had her entirely enthralled. And she didn't know why there were these tears spilling insistently down her cheeks. This shouldn't have upset her, but it did.

Maybe it was because of the fact that she thought she had buried him in her past. Clearly, she hadn't and that terrified her. Or maybe she was sobbing like a school girl because he was back and she missed him. There was too much raging inside of her head for her to sort anything out.

But she knew one thing, Grant Ward was back. That was just starting to sink in and the four words were starting to take meaning in her mind. Maybe that was why she was crying, because she couldn't run from him.

"Skye," Leo said leaning into the doorway.

"Yeah," she asked wiping at her eyes and closing the lid to her laptop.

"We are meeting in conference room A," Leo said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Skye sniffled.

"No your not," Leo stated striding across the room. He sat down next to her on the bed and pulled her body into his.

Skye leaned into him allowing him to wrap his arms around her body.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked.

"Why did he have to come back?" She sobbed into his chest. "We were all fine without him."

"I know, sweetie," Leo replied stoking her hair.

"I don't want to do this again," she stated. "I did so much to make sure I never had to see him again or deal with him again, but it was all for nothing."

Leo just held her there as Skye calmed down. Her sobs slowed to desperate hiccups and her body shook against him.

When her ragged breathing leveled out, Skye pulled away from Fitz. She ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm sorry," Skye whispered. "I don't know what came over me."

"Hey," Leo said cupping her cheek. "It's okay. There is nothing wrong with crying. Actually, given the circumstances I think there'd be something wrong with you if you weren't crying."

Skye chuckled wiping at her eyes.

"What were you watching?" Leo asked opening the lid to her laptop. He watched the video clip six or seven times with his mouth slightly agape before saying anything.

"How long did it take you to find that?" He asked.

"A little over a minute," Skye replied. "I'm a little rusty. I haven't hacked since I left SHIELD."

"Why not?" He asked.

"Too easy to trace," Skye said staring at her laptop. She was completely zoned out and Leo knew she was watching Grant's face. Memorizing every feature and line. "Coulson said that if Hydra is still after me, they'd be looking for my signature. That's also why I wasn't allowed to take my laptop with me when I left."

"What was it like being normal?" Fitz asked.

Skye wouldn't know honestly. She had all these expectations of what life would be like outside of SHIELD. But when she actually left and got a normal job, she realized how stupid that had been. Regular life was boring and lonely. She didn't know her neighbors and they wouldn't have cared if she died. Maybe it was better off that way, but she hated it. Hated it more than running for her life.

"It sucked," Skye chuckled.

"That bad, huh?"

"It was lonely and nothing like I expected. Normalcy is so boring," Skye said.

"There was nothing good about it," Leo asked.

"Not really," Skye said. "I was constantly looking over my shoulder waiting for something to go to hell. I tried to make friends, but I was too scared they would get hurt because of me. So I started avoiding people. There was taco Tuesday, which was amazing."

"Taco Tuesday?"

"Yeah, there was this little Mexican restaurant three blocks away from my apartment and every Tuesday they had half priced tacos. The owners were so nice and I'm pretty sure they're going to be the only people who realize I'm gone. And the food was amazing."

"Maybe when this is all over we can all go for a team taco Tuesday."

'That'd be fun."

Skye rolled off the bed and rose to her feet. She sighed throwing her hair up into a pony tail and laced up her boots.

"We should get to the conference room," Skye said. "Before they start to worry."

"Of course," Leo replied.

He rose to his feet and followed her out of the room. It was small and practical, but everything SHIELD related was like that. There was a bed that was neatly made up when Skye got there, but she had taken a nap and was too lazy to re-make it. A dresser that matched the desk. The floors had this scratchy carpet covering them and the walls were painted this sickly gray color.

They walked out into the hallway and Skye locked the door behind them.

The pair made small talk as they made their way down the winding corridors of the Hub. Other agents passed them without so much as acknowledging them. The few who did even regard their presence shot them dirty looks that they so carefully ignored.

No matter how long it had been since Hydra had shown its ugly face, they were still that team. The team that was housing not one, but two Hydra agents. And they were also the team that had the girl who wasn't agent enough to stick with SHIELD after things went to hell.

"I'm sorry I left, Fitz," Skye said. "I was being selfish."

"No," Leo said smiling sadly. "I get it. It hurt too much for you to stay. I would've done the same thing if I were in your shoes."

"Jemma would never betray SHIELD so you have nothing to worry about," Skye said.

"B-but… What….Huh?" Leo sputtered.

"Don't worry," Skye smiled. "I won't tell her. But you should make a move."


	4. Chapter 4

The plan was simple. Ward had last been spotted in Las Vegas and that's exactly where they were going. Though the intel could be stale and useless like all the other leads had been, but Skye hoped this worked. One of the agents inside Hydra had communicated to Coulson that a few agents were meeting at some strip club and Ward was one of them.

That's why Skye was clad in tight black spandex shorts, a red lacy bra, silver heels and a black leather jacket. Melinda and Simmons were dressed similar to her as well as a few other SHIELD agents that Coulson had called in favors with. Actually, the whole building was being worked by SHIELD agents.

Skye had on a light brown wig and dark makeup. It was hard to tell it was her and she freaked out every time she looked in the mirror. Tripp walked into the dressing room looking rather peeved. Skye had to stifle a giggle upon seeing him. He had on this afro wig and hipster shades. Someone had picked out a pair of baggy jeans and a bright yellow graphic t-shirt with a purple hoodie on top of it. There was this pair of red headphones around his neck.

"What are you supposed to be?" Skye giggled. "You look like a neon sign."

"The DJ," Tripp huffed.

"Well at least you're fully dressed," Simmons grumbled trying her best to walk toward them. She had on these impossibly tall black heels, a black bra, and a short skirt that showed her black thong.

"You guys are on in five minutes," Fitz said fiddling around with his tablet. He looked up and got one look at Jemma before he started blushing and sputtering.

"Where are the comms?" Skye asked.

"Oh," Fitz said. "Right here."

He handed each of them a comm. and they slid them in their ears turning them on. Each girl took one last look in the mirror fixing their makeup. Tripp took his spot at the turntable. Though it was well hidden, all of the agents were armed.

"Put your hands together for the Naughty Nine," Tripp's voice boomed into the microphone.

The girls paraded onto the stage in their skimpy little outfits. Clearly their gymnastic and fighting skills came in handy now. Coulson had hired an instructor he had met to teach them all how to dance and a routine.  
"I feel so ridiculous," May hissed to Skye through gritted teeth.

Then, Skye saw him. Grant was sitting at a table with Agent Sitwell and a few other Hydra agents she recognized. It was like all the air had been pulled out of her lungs. Seeing him in person was actually a million times worse than hearing that he had escaped or watching the video feed. But Skye didn't stop, didn't show any sign of feeling like she was going to vomit right there on the stage.

Deep down inside of her she wished that he wouldn't come. He was just sitting there entirely clueless to the fact that there were at least one hundred armed SHIELD agents surrounding him.

"Eyes on the target," Skye said into the comm. Her voice was shaky and crackled with this pain. "Engaging now."

The girls stepped off the stage and into the crowd. They each picked a man they knew was Hydra and set to work keeping him busy. Thankfully, everyone in the club was either Hydra or SHIELD, there were no civilians to get caught in the cross fire.

"Stay away from, Ward," Skye instructed into the comm. "He's all mine."

He wasn't looking at her when she sat on his lap and started grinding into him. And even when he did look at her, she didn't meet his eyes. She couldn't look at him in the eyes, she knew she would choke and giver herself away if she did. So, she spread this seductive smirk on her lips and cleared her mind like May had told her to do.

With Grant distracted, Skye reached into her pocket slowly and pulled out a gun waiting for Coulson's instruction. It wasn't the real gun locked and loaded that she had stashed in her other pocket. But instead, it was an Icer or as Fitz still called it, the night-night gun. Thanks to a few minor modifications, it looked just as threatening as a real gun.

"Now," Coulson said over the comm.

And that's when all of the girls pulled their wigs off to reveal and pulled their guns out. A few of the guys in the crowd also rose and aimed their guns.

"Skye," Grant gasped.

"Long time, no see, dirt bag," Skye said smiling at him. But this time it wasn't seductive or even the playful smirk she used to flash at him, this time it was devilish and menacing. Grant felt his blood run cold. He didn't want to think about where she had learned to do that or even why it looked so natural on her lips.

Her once soft brown eyes had hardened into this hollow look. They were blank like a good agents would be and much to Grant's horror, looked so very un-Skye like.

What was she doing here? Grant had heard that she retired and dropped off the grid. It was better that way. He knew that even though Garrett was gone, he would've had to kill her along with the rest of his team. Well, his former team.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Didn't you here?" Skye asked her voice strong and angry. "I'm with SHIELD again."

"You won't shoot me," Grant said.

"Try me," Skye said pulling the trigger. Grant's unconscious body slumped against the chair he was sitting in.

Slowly, all of the agents fired their Icers and the Hydra-heads fell unconscious just like Grant. Skye stood there staring at him without even noticing it. He had this scar on his forehead and his lip was busted a little bit. Other than that, he looked like Grant Ward, her SO. The one that she thought he was for eight months, the one she wished he still was.

"You okay?" Leo asked walking up behind Skye.

"Yeah," she said quietly not able to pull her eyes away from Grant. "I'm fine."

"I thought you might want this," he said handing her a hoodie. She smiled at him gratefully before taking off her leather jacket and pulling on the sweatshirt.

Skye pulled her hair into a ponytail and inhaled a deep breath. Falling a little bit, Skye unstrapped her heels and put them into the bag that one of the other agents handed her along with the leather jacket and the wig laying by Ward's feet. Taking a deep breath, Skye glanced at him one more time before walking away.

"You did good today," May complimented her steps falling in rhythm with Skye's.

"Thanks," Skye said looking down at her feet. "I felt like I was going to puke."

"Cut yourself a break," Melinda said. "You've been out of the field for awhile."

"Because I was weak," Skye muttered.

"No," May scolded. "You weren't weak, you were being human."

"But I wasn't even with him," Skye said. "You guys were actually a thing."

"Skye, I saw the feed from Providence when it was just the two of you. You guys were definitely a thing. And I also saw how you played your cover even after you find Keonig's body in the storage closet. That wasn't weak."


	5. Chapter 5

Skye stood outside the door of the detention cell. The security feed pulled up on the screen outside the door showed Grant sitting at the table wide awake with his hands cuffed and his legs tied to the chair. All of the other Hydra agents that had been in the club had been transported to a SHIELD prison in DC. Coulson had given Skye the go-ahead on interrogating the person of interest locked up in the cell.

Skye took a deep breath before turning the knob on the door. With her head held high she walked through the doorway. Her heels clomped against the tile floor of the cell as she approached the table. Without saying a word, she sat down in the chair across from Grant and placed the file she had in her hands on the table in front of her.

She took in his appearance. He was wearing the same leather jacket as he was yesterday and the same pair of jeans. His expression was blank and his hair was dirty.

"Skye," Grant said his voice cracking a little bit.

"Save it," Skye said. "I need information; the sooner you give it the sooner you get transported to the States to rot in a cell with the rest of your Hydra buddies. Now shall we begin?"

Grant sighed leaning back in his chair rolling his eyes at Skye. She shouldn't be here; she should be safe in her apartment under her alias.

"Where is Hydra based out of?" Skye asked opening the file.

"I don't know," Grant lied.

"Yes you do," Skye said. "With Pierce in high-security prison and Garrett in the ground, you became the leader of Hydra by default. With that comes access to all of Hydra's secrets and all or Hydra's bases. So tell me Grant, where is it?"

"Berlin," Grant sighed. "Garrett moved it there after Pierce was arrested because he was looking for something Dr. Zola had supposedly left behind."

"Did he find it?" Skye asked.

"No," Grant said. "He had lost his mind by then, he didn't know what he was doing."

"Do you know where in Berlin?" Skye asked.

"I just know coordinates."

Skye slid him a small notebook with a pen resting on top of it. He picked up the pen and scribbled some numbers onto it. He slid it back to her not meeting her eyes. Grant didn't trust himself to look at those big brown eyes. Not just because what he had done to her would be visible to him, but he didn't want to see his reflection in them. He hated seeing his reflection; all he ever saw was the monster he had become.

"Why did you do it?" Skye asked. She sounded so small and broken. Grant couldn't help looking at her. Skye looked like she was about to burst into tears, the look broke his heart.

"What?"

"Why did you join Hydra?" Skye pressed.

"Because I owed debts to Garrett. I didn't want to go when Hydra was unveiled, but I had to. He saved me," Grant said.

"No," Skye said. "You didn't have to go. We could've kept you safe. But you came back and you took me with you because I was a weapon. You didn't love me and I was naïve to think you did."

"I did," Grant said looking down at the table. "I did love you."

"No," Skye said. "It was part of your cover, nothing more."

Grant didn't say anything to her; he couldn't say anything to her. There were all these words swirling in his mind that he wanted to say, but they all got caught in his throat. So instead, he clamped his mouth shut and looked at the panels on the wall behind Skye's head.

"That's what I thought," Skye said bitterness seeping into her words. "What were you doing in Vegas?"

"Garrett had some safe houses and secret bases in Nevada. There was a house in Vegas that hadn't been compromised. Sitwell and I were meeting at the club with a few other agents and then I was going to take them to the house."

"What's so special about Nevada?"

"There's a research facility that Garrett set up just outside of Vegas. It was his main compound, where he based his operations out of."

"You're going to take us to it," Skye said rising to her feet. "First thing tomorrow."

Grant watched Skye rise to her feet carefully placing the folder in front of him. She walked around the table and leaned over. He could feel her warm breath on the back of his neck causing goose bumps to form. She stood so close to him that he could smell her vanilla perfume that made it hard for him to think straight. Skye grabbed his chin roughly forcing him to look her in the eye. Her brown eyes were swimming with this ferocity that horrified him and something so foreign to her face that he couldn't recognize it. Was it rage or hatred? Maybe even evil.

"Sweet dreams," Skye whispered. Her words were dripping with venom and bitterness that sent a shiver down his spine. If he wasn't feeling so guilty with the fact that he was the reason the softness in her eyes had hardened, he might have found it kind of sexy.

Grant watched Skye walk away, her hips swaying with every step. The door slammed shut behind her and he could hear her heels against the floor. Eventually, the sound of that faded too leaving him in this stifling silence.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

May met Skye in the lounge. Everyone else had gone to bed, but the older woman sat at the bar a scotch in her hand and one sitting next to her. May patted the seat next to her glancing at Skye. She crossed the room in a few strides and hopped onto the stool taking a long drag from her drink.

"I assume you were watching the security footage during the interrogation," Skye said. May nodded her head taking a sip of her drink. "Do you believe him?"

Melinda knew what Skye was asking; if she thought he was telling the truth when he said that he loved her. To be honest, Melinda did think that Grant loved her. When Skye ran away, he could've tracked her down and taken her again. He no doubt had the means to do it, but he didn't. Grant Ward in all of his evils gave Skye a gift even if she couldn't see it; he gave her freedom. Melinda knew that he probably watched her from a far and kept close tabs on her, but he never engaged her.

"He loves you, Skye," May says.

Even though part of Skye hated him, a big part of her actually, something in her still loved that man. Hearing May say that made something inside her heart swell and she couldn't help the small smile spreading on her lips. She didn't want to love him, he was a horrible man, but that didn't change the way she felt.

Skye finished her drink and slammed her glass on the table. She jumped off the bar stool and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thank you," Skye said smiling gratefully at May.


	6. Chapter 6

Grant got hardly any sleep that night. It wasn't just that the cot was lumpy and uncomfortable, he had slept on rock solid floors before, his thoughts were racing ten thousand miles a minute. He couldn't get the way her eyes looked out of his head. Couldn't forget the words she breathed so menacingly into his ear.

He was laying on the cot staring at the ceiling when the door to the detention cell opened. Grant didn't bother looking to see who it was. He was horrified that maybe it was Simmons or May. Or even Fitz. He didn't think that Skye would be back to see him again, but that girl was full of surprises.

"Get up," Skye said tossing some clean clothes on top of him.

"Whose are these?" Grant asked pulling his dirty t-shirt off.

Before saying anything, Skye cleared her throat and tried her best to avoid looking at his toned body.

"Yours; I dug them out of your old bunk. No one's really been in there for a couple years," Skye replied walking toward the door. "Wheels up in five minutes. Tripp will be in here to escort you to the lounge in a few minutes."

With that, she closed the door behind her and she was gone. Just as Skye said, Tripp walked through the door not even looking him in the eye. He cuffed Ward's hands and led him down the hallway. Grant could see the gun strapped to Tripp's waist and the knife poking out of his boot. If he wanted to, he could've taken them and escaped. But, he didn't want to.

It had been years since he had walked down that hallway. The last time he had, he was trying to get caught. He knew running into the Cybertech building was suicide, he was actually counting on it. When he was talking to Skye with her gun aimed at his head, he could see May running toward him out of the corner of his eye. He just prayed to every god he didn't believe in that she would kill him. She could kill him if she wanted to, but apparently she hadn't wanted to. She let him live and he realized late one night in his prison cell that this was her payback for all he had done. Let him suffer for the rest of his life with his crimes and his guilt. Melinda May was not a merciful woman, that's why she let him live.

When Tripp pushed him into the lounge, he was shocked to find the rest of his old team, minus one Melinda May, sitting around. Skye was at the bar typing away on her laptop not even bothering to look up when Tripp cuffed him to one of the couches. Simmons, who had been sitting on the other side of the couch, rose to her feet and sat down in the big armchair that was currently being occupied by Fitz. Ward watched her lean into him putting her head on his chest.

There was terror in her eyes. A kind of terror he had never seen from her before, not even when she jumped out of the plane. Or even when he was sending the Med-pod into the ocean. Maybe she knew it was supposed to float, just like he had known. The fact that he had put that blood-freezing fear in her eyes made him want to die right there.

And then there was Fitz. He sat there in chair with his arm wrapped around Simmons. Fitz refused to face him keeping his nose buried in some science journal, but Ward could see that scar slicing through his once boyish features. Since he had last seen the younger man, he had put on some muscles and the giddy twinkle in his eyes had faded. He had done that too, broken Fitz.

Grant returned his gaze to Skye taking in every detail of her. Her fingers glided carefully over the keys and her stare was blank. She was totally engrossed in whatever she was doing and Grant watched her bite her lip like she used to when she got focused. Chocolate curls fell into her eyes and she carefully tucked them behind her ear. She had on this worn out jeans, leather riding boots, a long sleeve blue t-shirt that had a pocket just over her right breast, and an old quilted vest that she had probably purchased at a thrift shop.

Coulson stood in the corner of the room clad in a gray suit. He didn't look all that different from the last time he saw him. In fact, Grant was sure he wore that same suit when he closed the door to his prison cell. The only thing Ward could see that was different was the speckling of a few light gray hairs.

"Ward," Coulson greeted nodding in his direction. There was no emotion in his voice, not a single sign of what the man was feeling. Like always, he was this stone wall of bullet proof agent. Entirely untouchable. Insanely unbreakable.

Grant found it hard to speak again. It wasn't that it hurt or anything like it was when May had fractured his Larynx. For the first time in a very long time, he was speechless.

"We'll land outside of Vegas in about two hours," Coulson said. "From there, we will take the van to the facility. Until then, I suggest you guy catch up. You're going to be spending a lot of time together."

With that Coulson exited the room leaving them in an awkward silence. Skye still refused to acknowledge Grant's presence in the room. Fitz had moved the science journal so both him and Simmons were engrossed in it. Tripp stood by the door with a rather large gun held in his hands. Grant didn't doubt that he would shoot him if he even thought about escaping.

After what felt like an eternity, Simmons spoke. Her words were quiet and little more than a squeak, but there was not a single shake or crack in her voice as she spoke. "You knew it was supposed to float?" She asked not looking at him. The way she said it, it was like she wasn't really asking. She was stating, she already knew.

"The med-pods are supposed to float, SHIELD protocol," Grant replied fiddling with his thumb.

"That doesn't prove anything, Simmons," Skye said pulling her eyes away from her screen. "He's still Hydra. He's just a Hydra-head who cared a little bit too much about his targets."

As Skye spoke, Grant realized she wasn't actually speaking to Jemma. She was speaking to him. Her cold stare was now digging into his eyes with ferocity and he was almost sure that she could see right through him. But then she twisted the bar stool and resumed working on her laptop.

"What are you doing?" Tripp asked.

"Hacking into Hydra's mainframe," Skye said. "I'm trying to get a feel for the security we're facing."

"It's not heavily guarded," Grant said. "Not many Hydra agents even know about it."

"And why would I trust you?" Skye asked. "You've screwed us over before."

"Skye," Fitz sighed.

"No," Grant said. "She's right."

"Don't try to defend me," Skye hissed. "I don't need your help! I've spent the last several years on my own. And then you came back and my life has spiraled back into this fucking hell. I don't want your help, I don't need your help. I want you locked in a prison like every other SHIELD traitor! And when you're gone I can go back to my normal life and be miserable, but free of you."

By the time the last word had slid off her tongue dripping in pure hatred, she was already storming out of the room. The door slammed behind her and a few seconds later they heard an angry screech following after her.


	7. Chapter 7

Skye stomped down the hallway and into her bunk. The second the door slid closed behind her, something in her snapped. Tears slid down her cheeks and violent sobs shook her entire body. Gasping for air, she clamped her hand over her mouth trying to stifle the cries catching in her throat. Sliding down the cool metal door, she collapsed on the floor. She pulled her legs to her chest and leaned her head against the wall.

This wasn't happening. Grant Ward wasn't back, he couldn't be back. This was just a horrible dream. Skye would wake up in her apartment and she would still be Adrian Fosters.

But this wasn't a dream, this was her reality now. The life she had tried so hard to run away from, but somehow it had caught up to her. It was inevitable, the past finding her. Grant Ward finding her. Agents she had spoken to before she left SHIELD said people could never really retire from this line of work. They might leave SHIELD if they live that long. From there they either become freelancers or law enforcement. A couple end up offing themselves, some are killed by old enemies. But more often than not, they ended up back at SHIELD. This job wasn't something you could run away from, it consumed your entire being to the point that you didn't know what to be without it.

There was a tentative knock on the door followed by Fitz's voice saying her name softly.

"Go away, Fitz," Skye rasped. Her voice was shaky and she stuttered a little.

"Skye," Fitz repeated. "I have a master passcode to get into any room. You either let me in or I come in."

Skye sighed loudly and exasperatedly. Her arm snaked up and she blindly felt around for the button she was looking for. A finger brushed across it and she hit it with her fist. The door slid open and she put her hand back to stop herself from falling into the hallway. Fitz stepped into the room and Skye shut the door again.

"That was quite the outburst," Fitz said.

"I'm sorry," Skye hiccupped. "I didn't mean to blow up."

"Its fine," Fitz said wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He pulled her into his body running a hand up and down her back. Skye rested her head on his chest taking in his scent. It was familiar to her, it calmed her.

A puddle of tears collected on Fitz's shirt, but it didn't seem to bother him that much. He just rocked back and forth, back and forth. Surprisingly, Fitz was good at the whole comforting thing. Skye had expected him to be awkward and be tense the entire time. But he wasn't.

Skye remembered reading somewhere in his file that he had two younger sisters. One was only a few years younger and the other was almost a decade younger. She had also read that his father had died shortly after the youngest was born. Fitz had probably been around for quite a few broken hearts and scraped knees. He probably had a lot of practice in the whole comforting thing.

"I hate him so much," Skye sobbed. "I wish May killed him when she had the chance. None of this would have happened if he died with Garrett." Fitz didn't say anything just held her and let her keep talking. "I don't want to love him, Fitz."

"I know, darling," Fitz said kissing her on the top of her head. "I know, but you can't pick who you love."

"It sucks," Skye said. "And love is supposed to be this great life saving thing, but the only thing it has ever caused me is pain."

"You're strong, Skye. It's only a few days; you can get through this."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The plane landed and Skye stepped into the hallway. She had changed into ripped up jeans and a long sleeve black t-shirt that showed a little bit of midriff. A holster was strapped around her waist and she had gear buckled to her torso. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and there was a gas mask around her neck. Skye had on these black leather gloves that matched her combat boots. She was heavily armed and there was no evidence that she had been crying. However, she did look insanely pissed off.

"Let's get this show on the rode," she said strutting into the lounge.

Everyone else, Grant included, had changed into mission gear. Grant however, wasn't armed. When she entered the room, everyone turned to look at her. Tripp handed her a Comm and helped her put it on.

Skye looked over at Simmons and was startled by her appearance. Jemma was decked out in tight black jeans, leather boots and a black v-neck with SHIELD's pennant on the sleeve. She had strapped on a Kevlar vest and appeared to be heavily armed. Her hair was pulled into a braid down her neck and a gas mask similar to Skye's was around her neck.

"Heads up," May said to Skye tossing her a couple of mags. Skye clipped it to her belt next to her gun.

Grant was standing a little off to the side when Skye walked over to him. She was swinging the handcuff key ring around her finger smirking at him. Roughly, she grabbed his arms making sure the cuffs dug deep into his wrists. Skye unlocked the cuffs and hooked them to her belt. Closing her eyes, she huffed out a sigh.

"Listen," she said. "Coulson put the two of us together for this mission. I'm not a fan of it and trust me, I will not hesitate to shoot you this time. Don't make me regret doing this."

"I won't," Grant said.

Skye stood in front of him fiddling with her glove refusing to look him in the eye. She was going over all of the things that she could say to him, but for the first time, she was speechless.

"Grant," Skye said. "I kind of owe you an apology."

"No, you don't," Grant said.

"Yeah," she said looking up at him. "I do. You might have hurt all of us, but I'm an agent. I should've seen you as just another person, displaced how I felt about you. But I didn't. I yelled at you and I'm sorry. But like I said, don't think that for I minute I will hesitate to put a bullet through you head."

"Trust me," Grant said. "There is going to be a line of people waiting for me to screw up so they can shoot me."

Skye nodded and turned to walk away. Grant watched her walk toward Tripp. Coulson said that before Skye left, Tripp had continued her training. When she came back he kept training her like nothing had happened. Tripp was running through a sequence with her. One of the unarming styles he had tried to show her. Tripp, unlike him, had actually managed to get somewhere with her.

Skye had obviously been paying attention to him when he taught her how to punch no matter how unmotivated she had been. He had felt that when she punched him. Grant watched Tripp put an arm around her neck and Skye twisted out of his grasp in one swift, gracefully executed movement. If he hadn't known better he wouldn't have been able to guess that she had been out of the field for five years.


	8. Chapter 8

Fitz was still on the Bus, much to his dismay. When Coulson told him that he was going to be the handler, again, he whined 'but I did it last time.' Coulson clearly unimpressed handed him a laptop and a gun just in case. The rest of the team loaded into the SHIELD van with their gear.

"Shotgun," Skye shouted climbing into the passenger seat.

Coulson drove at Grant's direction to the facility. They parked the van a mile away from the compound. The facility was in the middle of no where basically. Land that had been purchased, but never developed into housing projects. The thick tree cover hadn't even been cut down. It hid the facility well, but it also meant that the van would be unseen.

There were only seven guards minimally armed at the door of the compound. It took them about two minutes to knock them out. From there, they split up. Skye and Grant were going after the files kept in the basement. Simmons and Tripp were going to the lab to collect data and anything they might be able to use. May and Coulson were supposed to set the building to detonate while reeking as much havoc as they could.

But the plan was too perfect. Security was greater than any of them had suspected. Almost immediately, Skye and Grant were caught. About twelve guards started firing at them and Skye could hear the sound of heavy boots growing closer.

Skye and Grant dove in different directions hiding behind walls. It was then that she realized Grant was unarmed. She reached into her belt and pulled out a gun. Looking at him in the eye, she slid it across the hallway. Grant unclipped the safety never once breaking eye contact with Skye. She readied her own gun and held up her hand.

"Three, two, one," she mouthed to him. The two of them jumped back into the main hallway pressing their backs against each other. Slowly, the circled firing bullet after bullet at the guards.

"Fitz," Grant said into the comm. "Get us out of this."

"I'm working on it," Fitz shouted back. "Skye, I need help hacking into the Cybertech system. These soldiers are Garrett's super-soldiers."

Skye walked him through the hack. She didn't show any sign of it other than hissing through gritted teeth, but she caught a bullet in her shoulder. Fitz apparently got through the system because the soldiers just stopped. They didn't fall on the ground or anything, just stood still with their guns raised. Nobody fired. It was like they were statues.

"Thanks, Fitz," Skye said over the comm. She set off running down the twisting corridors, Grant close behind. Pain pounded through her shoulder with every step, but she powered on.

"Skye," Grant said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied breathlessly. They rounded a corner and she stopped putting her hands on her knees. She inhaled deeply and Grant stood in front of her waiting for her to catch her breath. It was then that he saw the blood trickling from her right shoulder.

"No you're not," Grant said. "You were shot."

"We don't have time for this," Skye said.

Grant ignored her digging into his pocket. Rolling her eyes, Skye stepped toward him and let him wrap up her arm. He tried to be as gentle as he could, but she flinched when he touched her arm.

"Sorry," Grant apologized stepping away from her.

Skye didn't reply, but turned on her heel and continued to sprint down the hallway. Grant's steps fell in line with hers. They came to the stairwell and Skye flew through the door. She took the steps two at a time rounding the corners with her gun out.

They encountered three guards. Skye shot each of them once in the head and again the chest not even slowing her pace.

Her and Grant came to the basement door. They leaned against the wall on either side holding their guns up. Skye nodded and Grant burst through the big metal door. There were only two guards in the basement. They were too shocked to even reach for their guns. Skye shot one twice and Grant shot the other once in the chest. The guards fell to the ground with a thud.

Skye sprinted toward the computer panel in the dark room. She shoved the hard drive into the computer and began saving everything to it. Grant stood with his back to her with his gun aimed at the door waiting for someone to enter.

"Done," Skye said removing the hard drive. She pocketed it and turned to Grant. Without saying a word to each other, they turned and raced up the steps.

"Simmons," May said over the comm. "What's your status?"

"Exiting the building," Simmons replied.

"Skye," Coulson said.

"On our way out," Skye said.

"Five minutes 'til we bring this place down," May said. Skye increased her pace and Grant found himself struggling to keep up with her. They wound back through the hallways ignoring the bodies lying in the hallway.

"Ten seconds," May said over the comm.

Skye could see Tripp and Simmons a couple yards ahead of them running at full speed. Her and Grant dove into the ground as the explosion went off. Grant landed on top of her shielding her body from the debris that was sure to be flying. After a few seconds, Grant rolled off of her lying on his back. Skye turned over on her back staring up at the clouds.

The flames from the building licked up at the sky giving it an orange tint. Black smoke billowed up and mixed with the clouds floating above them.

"I missed that," Skye said after a few minutes.

"What?" Grant asked. "Almost being blown up?"

"No," Skye chuckled. "I missed being an agent. Almost being blown up kind of comes with that."

"Is everyone okay?" Fitz asked over the comm.

"We are good," May said.

"Perfect," Simmons said over the comm clearly out of breath.

"We're good," Skye said sitting up. Then, she looked over at Grant. The dirt beneath him was soaking with blood. "No we're not, Grant's bleeding a lot."

"I'm fine," he rasped.

"I need medical help," Skye said. "Now."

Skye sat there helplessly and horrified. Grant laid on the ground in front of her heaving labored breaths and bleeding out. She didn't know what to do; she didn't even know what was bleeding.

Part of Skye hated him, she knew she always would. But the big part of her that still loved him was screaming at her to do something. Anything to save him. He couldn't die, not here, not like this.

"Grant," Skye said realizing there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She grabbed his hand desperately. They were already cold. "Stay with me."

Grant smiled at her weakly. All he could see was her big brown eyes as he slipped into this darkness. Was this death? If it was, it wasn't as bad as he had imagined it would be. It was cold and dark, but it was peaceful.


	9. Chapter 9

Skye sat in the hallway outside of the ER. Grant's blood had coated her hands and stained her jeans. There was a streak of crimson blood on her right cheek. She had dragged him to the checkpoint the team had agreed on if anything went wrong. By the time the rest of the team met her there, Grant's breaths were shallow and his body was covered in sweat. May helped her load him into the back and they drove to the nearest hospital.

Luckily the hospital was only fifteen miles away and they were close enough to have felt the blast of the compound. Grant, however, was the only patient reporting injuries from the explosion. A nurse asked Skye what had happened and she had mumbled something about the two of them camping in the area.

Simmons had given clothes to Skye to change into in the hospital bathroom. It was just a pair of clean jeans and a light pink v-neck. Skye stood in the bathroom scrubbing at the blood crusted to her body. The cold water stung her skin, but she didn't care. She wanted it gone.

The blood tinted the water in the sink a pink color as it drained into the sink. Her curly hair fell into her eyes and she quickly brushed it out of her eyes. Tears slipped down her cheeks, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. Just let them blur her vision. Even after the blood was gone, she continued to scrub. It was always going to be there, she realized. No matter how much time passes or how hard she tried to clean it off, Grant Ward's blood would always be there.

Skye took a deep breath and turned the water off. She didn't bother to look into the mirror; she knew she looked like a mess. With the heel of her hands, she wiped her eyes and pulled on the black high tops Simmons had given her.

She didn't bother to clean the blood out of her old clothes, so she hid them in the bottom of the trashcan. Quickly, she packed her gear into her backpack and shoved her gun into the back of her jeans.

May and Skye waited in that hallway for what felt like an eternity. The rest of the team had gathered in the waiting room. Skye figured that Simmons was sitting in the corner trying not to cry while Fitz was wrapping his arm around her. Tripp was probably drinking some coffee standing off to the side. Coulson was most likely failing to keep his cool and yelling at some poor nurse trying to get an update on Ward's status.

After several hours of waiting and anxiously pacing, a doctor with graying black hair and lab coat that was a few sizes to big stepped into the hallway. He had bags under his eyes that made him look older than he probably was. It was only then that Skye realized it was after two o'clock in the morning. She most likely looked awful too.

"How is he?" May asked rising to her feet.

"He lost a lot of blood, but the surgery was successful," the doctor said. "He's lucky to be alive."

"Can we go in and see him?" May asked.

Skye hadn't said a word since the doctor came into the hallway. She did manage to stumbled out of her chair, but all of the words she was trying to form caught in her throat. They did come out, but in a quiet choking sound that went unheard by everyone, but May. For the first time ever, Skye was speechless.

"Yes," the doctor said walking away.

"I'm- I'm gonna go get the others," Skye stuttered not meeting May's gaze. She dragged her feet down the hallway and May watched her turn into the waiting room.

"How is he?" Coulson demanded clattering to his feet upon seeing Skye enter the room. She walked toward him fiddling with her finger nails.

"He's lucky to be alive," Skye said looking up at her team. Their eyes looked at her hopefully, even Tripp. "The doctor said you can go in and see him."

"Where's May?" Coulson asked.

"She's already in there with him," Skye replied.

"Are you okay," Simmons asked Skye.

Skye hesitated a minute before answering. Honestly, she wasn't okay. Not only did she watch her former SO practically die in the field, but she still loved him. She didn't want to love him, loving him had only ever gotten her clabbered. But she loved him; there was no getting around that. She loved him and she didn't know if she'd ever get the chance to tell him that.

"No," Skye whispered her voice cracking. She clamped her hand over her mouth as tears fell from her eyes. In one long stride, Simmons was next to her wrapping her arms around her. Fitz followed enveloping both of the girls in this warm embrace.

"It'll be okay," Jemma said softly into Skye's hair as a few tears slipped down her cheeks too.

Skye rested her head on Jemma's shoulder, sobbing into her sweater. Jemma's hand trailed through Skye's tangled hair. After a few minutes, Skye's body relaxed and the sobs subsided into quiet hiccups.

Skye pulled away from the other woman and inhaled deeply. "I'm gonna go get some coffee," she said. "Anybody want anything?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Skye pulled the van into the drive-thru of the McDonalds a few miles away from the hospital. The cheery woman at the window shouted something that resembled jibberish into the speaker.

"Can I have three large coffees, a medium orange soda, a ten piece chicken nugget meal with root beer, a chocolate milkshake and a dozen cookies," Skye ordered into the speaker.

"Will that be all?" The woman replied.

"Yeah," Skye said reaching into the glove compartment for a wad of cash. She pulled two twenties into her lap and pulled up to the next window.

The woman handed her two cup holders with the drinks which she rested in the passenger seat and then the bag with Fitz's chicken nuggets on the floor. Skye handed her the two twenties faking a smile to the best of her ability. The woman placed her change in her hand which she dropped into the cup holder.

With the window still down, Skye drove back to the hospital. When she walked into the waiting room the team, May included, was gathered in the waiting room. She handed May and Coulson their coffees and Tripp his soda. Fitz tore into his chicken nuggets like a mad man before she even had the chance to hand Simmons her milkshake.

After throwing away the trash, Skye sipped at her coffee. It burned her tongue, but it wasn't bad for drive-thru coffee.

Skye sat down in a chair nursing her cup of coffee. She observed the world as it went on around her. All the kids playing in the playroom with the puzzles and blocks. The people crowded around each other in their little groups mourning someone's death or praying for recovery. The people walking in and out of the chapel with tear stains evident on their faces. The nurses rushing and bustling around with their colorful scrubs and over-enthusiastic smiles. It all made her feel even sicker to her stomach.


	10. Chapter 10

Grant Ward awoke in a white hospital room with a splitting headache. He had to squint to see through the blinding fluorescent lights. It hurt to move, hell, it hurt to breath. So he laid there trying his best not to move with ragged breaths escaping his chapped lips.

He got the feeling he was being watched. It was then that he realized the figure standing in the doorway. Fitz. His hands were shoved in his pocket and he had on the same plaid shirt and jeans he had on the last time Grant saw him, just a little bit more wrinkled and disheveled. The corner of Fitz's lips quirked up into a small grin, but Grant could tell it was forced. The other man looked exhausted.

"Sleeping beauty finally wakes," Fitz quipped striding across the room. "You look like bloody hell, Ward."

"You don't look too hot yourself," Ward rasped choking a little on his words.

"Well, it's two a.m. and we have all been here for over twenty-four hours," Leo replied sitting down in the chair next to Grant's bed.

"How's Skye?" Grant asked.

"A little shaken up," Fitz sighed. "She's pretty much sleep walking around this place, but she's holding up pretty well considering all that's happened."

"Is she hurt?" Grant persisted.

"Just a few scrapes and bruises," Fitz replied. "She was apparently shot in the shoulder, but Tripp cleaned her up on the way here."

"Fitz," Simmons said from the doorway. She looked a little bit better off than Fitz did. There was evidence of tears on her cheeks, but she had clearly changed clothes. Instead of her SHIELD gear she was now wearing a black skirt with blue flowers, a white tank top with an unbuttoned yellow sweater, and leather sandals. Her dirty blonde hair was damp from showering, but the bottom was already curling a bit and pieces were falling into her eyes.

"Yeah, Jemma," Fitz asked.

"Coulson wants to talk to you about something," Jemma said quietly. She clearly was timid to be even this close to Grant.

"I'll be there in a minute," Fitz replied looking at the girl in the doorway.

"Hurry," Simmons said before leaving.

Fitz didn't turn to look back at Grant, but watched her leave. His eyes remained where she was even after she was out of sight.

"She's still scared of me, isn't she?" Grant said.

"More scared of what you did," Fitz replied turning away from the doorway.

"So," Grant said. "Are you guys like a thing now?"

"No," Fitz huffed. "We are not together. We decided that given the situation we are all in, it would be best to remain friends."

"Fitz," Skye said from the doorway. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she looked irritated. There was a line of stitches over her right eye and her eyes were bloodshot. "Coulson is going ballistic in the waiting room."

"Alright," Fitz grumbled rising to his feet.

Skye stood in the doorway for a minute leaning against the doorway. She stared at him with her big brown eyes, but there wasn't anything stirring in them. They were blank, unreadable. Grant wondered when her emotions drained from her eyes, where she learned how to do that. It made her look hallowed out and lost.

"Hey," Skye whimpered still in the doorway. Her arms were wrapped around her body and she seemed to look anywhere but at him. The wall, her feet, the chair, the foot of the bed and even the picture above his bed, but never at him. She didn't trust herself to look at him, trust herself not to cry.

"Hey," he replied. Grant watched her step timidly toward the bed. She sat down in the chair that was occupied by Fitz not too long ago. "How's your shoulder?"

"A little sore, but I'll be okay," Skye said. "How's your…um…whole body?"

"The doctor said I'm gonna live so that's good, right?"

Skye chuckled quietly closing her eyes. When they fluttered open, they were plastered on him. A small smile lingered on her lips as she leaned back in the chair. "You know, you scared the crap out of all of us," she stated. "We thought you were gone."

"I'm not that easy to get rid of," Grant said.

"You're a real dumb-ass, you know that right?" Skye said. "I don't need you to protect me; I can take care of myself."

"I know," Grant replied.

"Next time you try to save me and almost get yourself killed, I'll kill you," Skye threatened halfheartedly.

"You got it, rookie," Grant replied.

"Thanks, robot," Skye said. "You know, for saving me, even though I didn't need it."

It was then that she reached out and surprised him by grabbing his hand. Skye held it in hers and squeezed it. Grant smiled at her and she gave him a sad smile back.

May, who was standing out in the hallway, watched this. Watched this series of events unfold in the small hospital room. It was like it took Ward almost dying for Skye to finally start rebuilding the bridge that had been torn down years ago. Like she had opened her eyes to the fact that now was as good a time as any to forgive Grant Ward and accepted that no matter what happened, he was the only man that really loved her.

The older woman might have detested the man for what he had done. He had taken her and made her believe that he was a good man, then he had destroyed her. Grant had ripped apart her team and helped bring down SHIELD, but even she knew that it wasn't really his fault. Yes, he had made choices and followed John Garrett to the end, but it was about debts. Grant thought he owed that twisted man his life.

What if May or Coulson had been given the assignment to get that kid out of Juvi? What if a good agent picked him up and trained him? Ward wouldn't have made the choices he did, wouldn't have so much innocent blood on his hands. Maybe May did hate him and it was possible that part of her always would, but she understood that it wasn't really Grant Ward that she hated. It was the John Garrett part of Grant Ward that he hated.

Ward was a good man, he had proven that when he jumped on top of Skye. He didn't deserve the life that he had been given.

"What are you thinking, May," Coulson asked from the other side of the hallway. She wasn't sure how he had managed it, but he was one of the few people who could still sneak up on her.

"That we aren't a team without him," she said. "If we send him back to prison, Skye will leave again."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Well, you are the director now," Melinda replied looking over at him. "You can decide that he can be released early for good behavior."

"I would have the council on my ass for it."

"Since when have you cared about what the council thought?"


End file.
